THE YEAR IN BOXING: On Dec. 8, a good year in boxing suddenly became great. That's when the punch heard 'round the world from a bloodied and battered Juan Manuel Marquez dropped Filipino superstar Manny Pacquiao with one second left in the sixth round.
The 'perfect punch' sent shock waves through boxing. A dying sport? Not judging by the way this non-title bout blew up on the sports pages and in social media. Pacquiao's fall put an exclamation point on the year in boxing. USA TODAY Sports' Bob Velin takes you through the best and worst of boxing in 2012: Joe Camporeale, USA TODAY Sports

FIGHT OF THE YEAR AND KNOCKOUT OF THE YEAR: The fourth go-round between Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez had two aging but game stars going toe-to-toe for six scintillating rounds, and the shocking end gave credence to the old saying, 'a puncher's chance.'
Other top fights: Robert Guerrero's Nov. 24 unanimous decision vs. Andre Berto in another all-action, toe-to-toe slugfest and unbeaten Brandon Rios' seventh-round TKO of Mike Alvarado in October. Julie Jacobson, AP

FIGHTER OF THE YEAR: Guerrero moved up two weight classes to welterweight and won twice. Danny Garcia twice beat aging Mexican star Erik Morales and completed a stunning fourth-round KO upset of Amir Khan in Las Vegas. But the choice here is Nonito Donaire, who fought and won four times in 2012, including a pummeling of Mexican Jorge Arce on Dec. 15 that ended in a third-round KO. Donaire also is trying to change the sport by submitting to year-round Olympic-style drug testing. David J. Phillip, AP

BOXING'S BIGGEST LOSS: The unexpected death in October of Emanuel Steward, 68, shown in 1995 with his greatest fighter, Thomas Hearns, left a huge void in the sport, both from a training standpoint -- he handled heavyweight champ Wladimir Klitschko and others -- and as a commentator, providing spot-on analysis for HBO for 11 years. Jeff Kowalsky, Associated Press

TOP STORY: Hector 'Macho' Camacho's murder in Puerto Rico in November stunned the boxing world. Camacho, 50, was shot while sitting in his car. It was first reported he would survive but it turned out to be false. The former champion was on life support before his mother took him off four days after he was shot. Memorial services were held in Puerto Rico and New York, and 'Macho Man' was buried in the Bronx. GV Cruz, WireImage

HOW I SPENT MY SUMMER VACATION: Floyd Mayweather, 35, defeated Miguel Cotto in May, then a month later turned himself in to Clark County (Las Vegas) authorities and spent two months in lockup for domestic battery against Josie Harris, the mother of three of his children. Mayweather (43-0, 26 KOs), whose sentence was shortened by a month for good behavior, plans to fight again in May. David Becker, Getty Images

TRAINER OF THE YEAR: For the second year in a row, Robert Garcia takes the honor. His stable of fighters includes Donaire, Brandon Rios, his younger brother Mikey Garcia, and Hernan Marquez, the stable's only loser in 2012. He fell to Brian Viloria, a former Garcia fighter. David J. Phillip, AP

ROUND OF THE YEAR: For my money, Round 12 of Sergio Martinez-Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. on Sept. 15 topped them all. Chavez had lost the first 11 rounds, but came out in the 12th desperate for a KO. It almost happened, too, as Martinez went down, and nearly out. But like a true champion, he refused to hold on to Chavez in the final minute and made it through the round to take Chavez's middleweight belt. Jeff Bottari, Getty Images

BIGGEST RISING STAR: Boxing is in good hands with some exciting young fighters on the rise, such as Mikey Garcia, Saul 'Canelo'" Alvarez, Gary Russell Jr. and Deontay Wilder. But lightweight Adrien Broner, the 23-year-old cocky, confident rising star from Cincinnati, appears to be the next superstar on the horizon. His blazing speed and power puts him at the head of the class. Tom Hogan, Golden Boy Promotions

WORST JUDGING DEBACLE: This one's not close. Timothy Bradley's shocking split decision victory against Manny Pacquiao in June was so bad that the WBO commissioned a panel of judges to watch the fight and judge it, and they unanimously gave it to Pacquiao. But Bradley kept his belt. As of now, there's no rematch in the works. Julie Jacobson, AP

RETIREMENT WE HATED TO SEE: After 35 years at HBO, ring analyst Larry Merchant, 81, called it a career. Merchant will be best remembered for his great line after Floyd Mayweather's fight vs. Victor Ortiz, when he told the fighter, who had said Merchant should be fired, 'If I were 50 years younger, I'd kick your ass.' They later made up and Mayweather talked to Merchant after defeating Miguel Cotto last May. Al Bello, Getty Images